Never thought I'd find myself in this position, but here I am.
Late one night last week, Bernie really wasn't himself and we felt a mass in his belly. We called an advice line and were told it was an emergency situation, and that we needed to get him to an out of hours vet immediately.
Once he was checked, we learned he was suffering from something called idiopathic feline lower urinary tract disease, meaning his urethra is constricting and not allowing him to pass urine.
He has had 3 catheters, and is still unable to urinate. A fourth catheter has been inserted today, until he can (hopefully) have surgery on Monday.
The only option now to avoid losing him, is a procedure called perennial urethrostomy, to create a new opening in his urethra, so that he can urinate.
Unfortunately the care he has already received over the past week has taken us up to the limit of his insurance cover, and we have been quoted £6,500 for the procedure.
We are of course working to raise the funds ourselves, but the avenues we're exploring aren't guaranteed and if approved, are likely to take some time to get to us.
This is a living nightmare for us, so I'm throwing myself at the aid of the internet.
Even if all you can do is share the GoFundMe link where you think it may be seen by someone who can help, we would all be so grateful.
My heart goes out to you and I've seen this happen to my friends cat before. If I'm not mistaken, it's almost exclusively male cats that are affected due to their urethral anatomy and stress tends to cause the onset of the inflammation. It is very life threatening without treatment, but the cat will live a normal healthy life after the surgery otherwise. You did the right thing taking your baby to the vet right away and saved his life, I hope you get the help and support you need to help him with this procedure ❤️
Thank you so much. We've incredibly managed to raise £3,800, and Bernie is going to a specialist tomorrow. We're hoping he can have the procedure there and then, but we think they want to do some imaging first.
I just want him better and home!